Andy Powell may be Wales's first-choice No8 and a Lion in South Africa in the ­summer, but he will be on the bench this Sunday when Cardiff Blues take on ­Leicester in the semi-final of the Heineken Cup at the Millennium Stadium.

The 27-year-old started the season off the international radar but made the Wales squad last autumn on the back of eye-catching displays for the Blues, ­having been given a run in the side through an injury to the All Black Xavier Rush, who regained his place when Powell suffered a thigh injury at the end of the Six Nations.

Rush was outstanding against Toulouse in the quarter-final and in the thumping EDF Energy Cup final victory over Gloucester the following week. "Rushy has taken his chance, just as I did, and that is how these things go," said Powell, a former Leicester player.

"One of the reasons that the Blues have done well this season is that we are a tight-knit squad. There are no big heads and no egos; we are all in it together. My job on Sunday is to give Rushy my full support and make an impact off the bench. I intend to do that."

Powell admitted that he was concerned he would miss out on a Lions place after spending three weeks on the treatment table and then having to be content with a place on the Blues' bench. "I was very edgy and grumpy in the weeks leading up to the squad announcement," he said. "Making the Lions is the rugby player's equivalent of climbing Everest and I am a lot more relaxed now that I know I have made it.

"It has been an incredible season for me, but I cannot sit back and think about South Africa because I want to help the Blues get to the Heineken Cup final. Leicester are a top side and the match will be decided up front. We respect them as a side, but we will play our game, even if we know it will not be as open as it was in the final against Gloucester."

The Gloucester centre Olly Barkley yesterday re-signed for Bath a year after leaving the Recreation Ground. He admitted he struggled to settle at Kingsholm and his return will pave the way for the Bath back, Shaun Berne, to join Leinster, who yesterday recruited the Wasps and Ireland scrum-half, Eoin Reddan. The Gloucester and England full-back, Iain Balshaw, has signed a two-year contract with Biarritz.

Karl Mullen, Ireland's 1948 grand slam captain who led the Lions in 1950, died yesterday at the age of 82, one month after Ireland won their second slam by defeating Wales in Cardiff.

The New Zealand referee Steve Walsh yesterday announced his retirement from the game after admitting he was grappling with an alcohol problem. He claimed that he had approached his national rugby union for help but that it was not prepared to pay for counselling.

"I was looking for a last chance, and whether they did not believe I could do that, I am not sure, but they were not prepared to go down that route," said the 37-year old Walsh, who was given the final match in the Six Nations between Wales and Ireland only to be stood down after he had turned up to a conference in Sydney suffering from the effects of alcohol, prompting the New Zealand Rugby Union to launch an inquiry.

"Steve has received more support from us than any player or administrator," said Neil Sorenson, the NZRU general manager of professional rugby. "We will continue to support him until the end of the year and then sit down with him to decide matters going forward." Walsh controlled 35 Tests and was no stranger to controversy: he was banned for three days during the 2003 World Cup for squirting water at the England fitness coach, Dave Reddin, and he received a four-month suspension in 2005 after verbally abusing the Lions wing, Shane Horgan.